Lights, Camera, Kentucky: Filmmakers Bring Big Screen Ambition To Kentucky With Bold New Thriller Hostage

By Alisha Proffitt • Photos Provided 

Kentucky native and filmmaker Drew Ingram has wrapped production on Hostage, a feature film born from a long-time creative partnership with Italian director Luca Elmi and brought to life here in Kentucky. The two met on the film festival circuit over 12 years ago and stayed in touch, producing two short films together, Roman Citizen and Hyena. Originally based on an Italian script, Hostage is a political thriller, centering around a rising politician entangled in a complex hostage situation. Ingram rewrote the screenplay to reflect an American context that naturally found its home here in Kentucky. Louisville and Frankfort provided the perfect visual and narrative backdrop, and the team utilized iconic locations like the old, decommissioned Courier-Journal building and Scottish Rite Theater. 

“When we first started discussing the film, Luca was adamant that it be small in scale: few locations, minimal cast, tight and contained. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t quite listen. I expanded the world, the cast, and the thematic scope, something he still gives me grief about,” Ingram quipped. “But in the process, the story became distinctly American, both in tone and in context. That shift actually played to Luca’s strengths; he’s incredibly well-versed in American cinema and has a deep affection for it, so the final version still resonated strongly with him.” 

Hostage reverberates the growing momentum of Kentucky’s film industry. Over the past 10–15 years, the state has evolved from a region with a passionate but inexperienced crew base into a serious player with professional-grade talent. Today, Kentucky crews are seasoned, reliable, and capable of delivering high-quality work that rivals productions in more traditional hubs like Atlanta or Los Angeles. However, the physical infrastructure (including soundstages, equipment rental houses, and post-production facilities) is still catching up. Independent productions like Hostage often rely on creative workarounds, but the need for permanent infrastructure is becoming more urgent as production volume increases. 

“The majority of Hostage was shot in the old Courier-Journal building in downtown Louisville. While there are ongoing plans from several groups to develop soundstages in Kentucky, the reality is that, outside of LEX Studios in Lexington, there are currently no true soundstage facilities in the state. So, like many independent productions, we got creative,” Ingram shared. “The Courier-Journal building, which is now owned by an out-of-state investment firm, proved to be an ideal solution. It offers over 300,000 square feet of industrial space, multi-use areas, and several floors of decommissioned office environments. Gus Van Sant’s Deadman’s Wire had recently shot there, and when we scouted it, we saw the same potential. We essentially treated the building as a soundstage, building multiple sets inside, taking advantage of the acoustically isolated spaces, and housing our production offices there for the duration of the shoot. It became our de facto basecamp and creative headquarters.” 

Stagmoor Studios, the company behind Hostage, aims to be a major player in Kentucky’s next chapter in film. Led by Drew Ingram, an entrepreneur with both creative passion and business expertise, the studio is committed to sustainable, locally rooted filmmaking. Their upcoming series Blackstone, which explores the Coal Wars, demonstrates their mission: to tell authentic Kentucky stories with Kentucky crews and talent. Inspired by Peter Jackson’s transformation of New Zealand into a filmmaking hub, the team hopes to do the same for their home state.

“One of my filmmaking heroes has always been Peter Jackson. There are many reasons for that, but two in particular resonate deeply with me. First, he turned New Zealand into a character in his films. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit weren’t just stories set in Middle-earth; they were love letters to his homeland. And second, he used those films to help build a sustainable film industry in New Zealand, both creatively and economically. I see Kentucky through a similar lens. This is a state with enormous narrative potential, rich in history, culture, and natural beauty,” shared Ingram. “We have towering mountain ranges, vast lakes, bustling cities, rolling farmland, and some of the deepest cave systems in the world. There’s so much texture here. And beyond the visuals, we have stories of national consequence. Stories that shaped labor, politics, and identity in this country; like the Coal Wars, which we’re exploring in Blackstone.”

“Too often, Kentucky is used as a cinematic stand-in for someplace else; Louisville doubling for Chicago, or our rural areas pretending to be parts of the Ozarks. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it’s not my mission,” Ingram expanded. “I’m a proud Kentuckian. My family roots in this state go back to the pre–Civil War era, and I feel a responsibility to tell stories that are authentically rooted in this place. With Stagmoor Studios, our long-term vision is to produce a body of work that is proudly Kentuckian, stories born from this land, told by its people, and captured by local crews and talent whenever possible. We want to show the world what this state really looks like, and what it’s capable of.”

The film industry in Kentucky is still young, but it’s full of promise. With each production, the ecosystem strengthens, creatingjobs, developing talent, and drawing national attention. If Hostage can help prove that compelling, commercially viable films can be made because they’re shot in Kentucky, not in spite of it, then it will have played a meaningful role in the state’s cinematic rise. 

As for the future of film in Kentucky? Ingram leaves us with this- “It might be cliché, but I believe it, a rising tide lifts all boats. I’m rooting for every single film that chooses to shoot in Kentucky. Every production company, every post house, every grip and electric team, every independent soundstage trying to get off the ground. I want to see them all succeed. I’m rooting for the lawmakers and state officials who are working to fine-tune the Kentucky film incentive so that it remains competitive, supports local crew, and ultimately delivers a meaningful return for the state. And I’m cheering for the universities and small colleges that are investing in film programs and helping grow the next generation of Kentucky filmmakers. Because the truth is, there’s no silver bullet for building a thriving film industry. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes a collective, consistent effort, one that happens project by project, job by job, year over year. My preacher used to say, ‘Do for one what you wish you could do for many.’ That’s something I hold onto.”